Apartment Review for Harris Branch Apartments - Austin, TX

THIS IS HOW I GOT SCREWED CAUSE THIS ACT TAKES EFFECT JAN. 1 2010. I WOULD SEND A CERTIFIED LETTER TO CAPSTONE REALSTATE ANY COMPLAINS. THEY ARE LOCATED ON BARTON SPRINGS RD. YOU CAN GOOGLE HB 2427. Sec. 92.021. RIGHT TO VACATE AND AVOID LIABILITY FOLLOWING LOSS OF EMPLOYMENT OR VIOLENT CRIME. (a) A tenant may terminate the tenant's rights and obligations under a lease and may vacate the dwelling and avoid liability for future rent and any other sums due under the lease for terminating the lease and vacating the dwelling before the end of the lease term if the tenant complies with Subsection (b) or (c). (b) A tenant may exercise the rights under Subsection (a) to terminate the lease, vacate the dwelling before the end of the lease term, and avoid liability beginning on the earliest date on which all of the following events have occurred: (1) the tenant is terminated, without the fault of the tenant, from employment that provided the majority of the income for the household; (2) the tenant has delivered a notice describing the loss of employment and giving contact information for the tenant's former employer to enable the landlord to confirm the reason for the termination; and (3) the tenant has vacated the dwelling. (c) A tenant may exercise the rights under Subsection (a) to terminate the lease, vacate the dwelling before the end of the lease term, and avoid liability beginning on the earliest date on which all of the following events have occurred: (1) the leased premises were the scene of a violent criminal act without the fault of the tenant; (2) the tenant has delivered a notice terminating the lease with a copy of a report from the police department describing the act; and (3) the tenant has vacated the dwelling. (d) Except as provided by Subsection (f), this section does not affect a tenant's liability for delinquent, unpaid rent or other sums owed to the landlord before the lease was terminated by the tenant under this section. (e) A landlord who violates this section is liable to the tenant for actual damages, a civil penalty in an amount equal to one month's rent plus $500, and reasonable attorney's fees. (f) A tenant who terminates a lease under this section is released from all liability for any delinquent, unpaid rent owed to the landlord by the tenant on the effective date of the lease termination if the lease does not contain language substantially equivalent to the following: "Tenants may have special statutory rights to terminate the lease early in certain situations involving loss of employment or violent criminal activities occurring on the leased premises without the fault of the tenant." (g) A tenant's right to terminate a lease before the end of the lease term, vacate the dwelling, and avoid liability under this section may not be waived by a tenant. Sec. 92.022. EARLY TERMINATION OF LEASE BY TENANT WITHOUT CAUSE. (a) A tenant who terminates a lease without cause before the termination date stated in the lease is liable to the landlord for the landlord's damages that result from the tenant's early termination of the lease less any lawful setoffs and amounts collected in the landlord's effort to mitigate damages under Section 91.006. (b) A landlord may not collect damages under this section in excess of the amount of rent required to be paid for the remainder of the lease term. (c) For purposes of this section, the rental rate for the remainder of the lease term may not exceed the rate the tenant was paying before the date the tenant terminated the lease. (d) A provision of a lease that purports to waive a tenant's right or to exempt a landlord from a liability or duty under this section is void. Sec. 92.023. NOTICE REGARDING ENTRY TO DWELLING BY LANDLORD. (a) Unless there is an emergency, a landlord may enter a dwelling only if the entry is authorized in a written lease and the landlord has delivered to the tenant, at least 24 hours before the entry, a written notice containing the date and time the landlord will enter and the purpose for the entry. (b) A landlord may enter a dwelling only: (1) on the date and at the time contained in the written notice required by Subsection (a); (2) for a reason listed in a written lease; and (3) if the date and time are reasonable. (c) For each violation of this section by a landlord, the tenant may recover from the landlord a civil penalty in an amount equal to one month's rent plus $750, actual damages, court costs, and reasonable attorney's fees and obtain injunctive relief. (d) A provision of a lease that purports to waive a right or to exempt a party from a liability or duty under this section is void.